The Monster Within
by Little Maomi
Summary: Monsters are not always visible - they're not always out there in plain sight for all to see. More often than not, the monsters we fear are found within ourselves. LakeClan's safety is suddenly thrust upon young Lightningpaw, but how can she save her beloved Clan when her own sanity may be compromised by none other than herself?
1. Allegiances

**LakeClan**

**Leader:** Beetlestar - _previously known as Beetleclaw; dark brown tom with numerous battle scars and green eyes_

**Deputy:** Owlfoot - _lean brown tabby she-cat with large yellow eyes_

**Medicine cat:** Ravenleaf - _mostly black she-cat with a white tail tip and copper eyes_

**Med. apprentice:** Brightpaw - _white tom with ginger patches and green eyes_

**Warriors:**

Shellfur - _pale, light brown male tabby with blue eyes_

** Apprentice:** Bramblingpaw

Cloudstream - _white tom with gold eyes_

** Apprentice: **Goosepaw

Morningclaw - _bright ginger she-cat with blue eyes_

Squirrelstorm - _grey, heavily scarred she-cat with blue eyes_

Loonclaw - _black-and-white tom with green eyes_

Willowface - _pretty light grey she-cat with yellow eyes_

Leopardfang - _brown dappled tom with green eyes_

Acornstripe - _brown tom with distinctive tabby markings and amber eyes_

** Apprentice: **Spiderpaw

Palecloud - _pale grey tom with blue eyes_

**Apprentice: **Lightningpaw

Sorrelcloud - _tortoiseshell molly with gold eyes_

** Apprentice: **Lilypaw

Applestream - _ginger tom with green eyes_

**Apprentices:**

Lilypaw - _white she-cat with blue eyes_

Goosepaw - _grey-brown tom with bright gold eyes_

Bramblingpaw - _red-brown female tabby with orange eyes_

Lightningpaw - _pale golden she-cat with pale blue eyes_

Spiderpaw - _tall black tom with green eyes_

**Queens and Kits:**

Brambleflower - _brown tabby she-cat with copper eyes_

Gannetfoot - _mostly white calico with green eyes_

** Kits: **Tigerkit - _dark brown female tabby with yellow eyes_

Juniperclaw - _blue-grey she-cat with yellow eyes_

** Kits:** Bluekit -_ blue-grey tom with blue eyes_; Pebblekit - _small grey molly with blue eyes_

**Elders:**

Tornface - _previously Chubpelt; brown and white tom with half of his face shredded; orange eyes_

Beestripe - _small, golden female tabby with orange eyes_


	2. Border Skrimish

"C'mon you flea-infested rats!" a ginger tom snarled, hackles raised and claws buried deep into the earth. "Come see what happens when you mess with LakeClan!"

Standing at the opposite side of a rushing river was a patrol of five large, muscled cats. A dark brown tabby stood a little before the rest and glared at the pale grey tom. "Have you got fluff in your head?" he demanded. "Or have you not listened to anything I have said? We haven't been stealing your prey."

A golden-furred molly stood next to the the ginger tom, Applestream She curled her claws into the soil, kneading the ground angrily as she faced her opponents across the river. Her tail tip twitched erratically. _'How dare these foxhearted cats claim innocence!'_ "And I supposed the rabbit killed and laid themselves on our borders?" She curled her lip to reveal a set of pearly white, sharp teeth. "Have you dirty BarnClanners gotten so arrogant as to openly mock us with dead prey?"

A lithe, dark grey she-cat stepped up next to her companion and flashed the LakeClan patrol a hateful glare. "You aren't even listening to us!" she snapped. "Tell Beetlestar that we didn't steal prey from you, and there needn't be any bloodshed here."

'Lies. All I scent are lies.' The apprentice knew it was not her place to speak - Owlfoot was the deputy, after all. He would speak on behalf of LakeClan. But she still could barely resist the temptation of leaping across the river and tearing her enemies to bits - if she was powerful enough, of course. Instead, she maintained a venomous glare at the cats, her back arched and muscles bunched. If these foxhearted cats even dared to attack, then she would be one of the first to defend her Clanmates. Even if she was the youngest of the group. Her ears twitched, alarmed, when a soft tail brushed itself down her flank.

"Lightningpaw," her mentor, a pale grey tom murmured. "Calm down. Owlfoot has yet to decide on our next course of action."

Lightningpaw turned around and glared at her mentor. "How can I be calm when these rats refuse to admit to their crimes?" Underneath her anger, which clouded her judgement, she knew that Palecloud didn't deserve her sharpness. But _still_. How could Palecloud just _sit_ there while criminals refused to suffer their rightful punishment? No, Lightningpaw couldn't allow these cats to slip away unscathed, but she knew that Owlfoot had the final say. She looked at the brown tabby, blue eyes narrowed expectantly. _'Well?'_

The LakeClan deputy sat at the back of the patrol, yellow eyes as unreadable as ever. Even Lightningpaw could not decipher them. After a moment's silence, she replied coolly, "I'm sorry to have caused you trouble, Sedgetail." She nodded firmly to the opposing dark brown tom. "This leafbare has been particularly harsh on us both - my Clanmates are just a little antsy is all." She stood, seemingly shrugging off her Clanmates' flabbergasted expressions. "Send Lionstar LakeClan's apologies."

Sedgetail smirked and smoothened his fur. "Of course, Owlfoot. Don't let this happen again." With that said, he turned and waved his tail, which sent the rest of his patrol trailing after him as they disappeared into the thick forest.

Meanwhile, Lightningpaw was unable to comprehend what had happened. Had they just...surrendered? Let the enemies go? Let criminals writhe free from their claws? _Lost_? No! "Owlfoot!" Lightningpaw protested, whipping around and storming after her deputy. "Why did you let them go? Every sign so far has pointed to them!"

"We have no concrete evidence," she replied tiredly, not even sparing Lightningpaw a side glance.

"That's completely mousebrained," Lightningpaw argued, unaware that she was raising her voice by the second. "Didn't the dawn patrol find a dead squirrel with BarnClan's scent on it? And they also scented BarnClan over on our side of the river! This isn't the first time either; this has been happening since the beginning of leafbare."

"Lightningpaw," Owlfoot growled, suddenly turning around and shadowing over the smaller apprentice. "We don't have enough evidence to pin the blame on anybody. For all we know, it can be a rogue weaving in and out of both territories." She flashed Lightningpaw a warning glare. "Now, no more complaints. I mean it."

She kept a steady glare at Owlfoot, unphased by the fact that the deputy had just publicly scolded her in front of the whole patrol. "Alright," she replied through gritted teeth, body tense. A whirlwind of thoughts filled her mind, but one emotion rang true and clear: anger. Owlfoot had just practically allowed BarnClan to have free reign over LakeClan's territory and thus prey! But, as angry as she was, she knew that she couldn't change Owlfoot's mind.

"Let's get back to camp," Palecloud suggested, voice as soft and soothing as ever. "You must be tired, so get some sleep."

"Of course," she replied scathingly, glaring at Palecloud. Obviously, she wasn't angry at Palecloud, but she couldn't help herself. The thing that made it all the worse was that nobody seemed to _care_! Stomping ahead of her mentor, she made sure to destroy every yellowed leaf in her way (she was aware that she was being childish, but the notion to stop was beyond her) as she paved her way back to camp. _'This is embarrassing,' _she growled to herself. _'We're returning empty-pawed. Our Clanmates wanted some answers, but we couldn't get them.'_

After several minutes of silent anger, she stepped her paw upon the entrance to camp, slightly hesitant to enter. How could she? Shame weighed heavily on her shoulders. How could she return to her hungry Clanmates?

"Hey," Palecloud mewed, beckoning his apprentice forward with a tail flick. "Owlfoot's talking to Beetlestar; there will be a Clan meeting soon."

Nodding, Lightningpaw held her breath and entered camp, paws crunching the yellowed and browned leaves underneath her. She swept her blue gaze over the clearing, frowning at the sight of her skinny Clanmates. Yesterday her own mother, Brambleflower, had told her that this leafbare was particularly harsh. '_No kidding.'_ The pale golden apprentice padded across the camp's clearing, heading towards the only place where she could find comfort - her nest. But, of course, she would have to overcome some obstacles. Namely the other apprentices. As she tiredly approached the apprentices' den, she scrunched her face in distaste at the recognition of Spiderpaw. That tom had _quite_ the mouth and energy.

"Well?" the pure black furred tom asked as she neared the den's entrance. He followed Lightningpaw as she slid past him and into her own nest at the middle of the den - a luxury she enjoyed due to her seniority.

"Owlfoot says BarnClan didn't do it," Lightningpaw growled in irritation at the memory. "Which is a load of foxdung."

"Whaaat?" He sat in front of her nest, eager for details. "But it must be BarnClan! Everybody thinks so."

"Well, not Owlfoot, apparently."

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Tall Rock for a Clan meeting," a deep voice ordered from outside.

'Here we go.' Begrudgingly, she lifted herself from her nest and followed Spiderpaw towards the gathered cats. She sat with the other apprentices. Her shoulder brushed against the snowy white shoulders of Lilypaw, who greeted her warmly with a nose-bump to the neck. "Nice to see you, too," the she-cat replied. Lilypaw was deaf, as most white furred, blue-eyed cats were (or so Brambleflower said), and thus used her body to communicate. Lightningpaw struggled to communicate with the white molly at some times, but she was getting the hang of it - or so she liked to think.

A dark, heavily scarred, brown tom emerged from the den situated at the top of a pile of rocks. His green eyes scanned his Clanmates for several seconds before he began: "Earlier today, Owlfoot joined a border patrol to inspect the river and question BarnClan about our disappearing prey. For so long, we have suspected our neighbors of being thieves, but today Owlfoot brings back news. BarnClan is not behind the disappearance of our prey."

"What?"

"That's ridiculous!"

"Of course they are!"

A chorus of discontented, angered cats began to protest against Beetlestar, but the leader hushed them with a stern flick of his tail. "This is the hardest leafbare in several season cycles, but we still must support our large numbers. We _cannot _afford to wrongfully accuse and wage war against BarnClan." He cast one more stoic look. "I will not tolerate any fighting with BarnClan, am I understood?" After a moment's silence, he dismissed the Clan with a tail wave and ducked into his den, Owlfoot following shortly behind.

"Can you believe that?" a white tom hissed under his breath to Applestream. "I've never known Beetlestar to allow BarnClan to pick on us!"

"Me neither, Cloudstream," Applestream growled, "but what can we do?"

"Oi, Lightningpaw!" Spiderpaw called, peering up at Lightningpaw. "Earth to Lightningpaw!"

_'Oh.'_ She hadn't been aware that Spiderpaw was still around. To be frank, her focus still remained on the Tall Rock, as if willing Beetlestar to remerge so that she could fully demand an explanation from both Owlfoot and Beetlestar. "Yeah?"

"Let's go to bed," he said, walking towards the apprentices' den. "Bramblingpaw made your nest today - aren't you glad?"

"Why should I be glad she did her job?" Lightningpaw grumbled mostly to herself. "If she had gotten the job done right the first time, then she wouldn't be doing it again."

"Oh, cut her some slack." Spiderpaw chuckled. "Bramblingpaw was just apprenticed a quarter moon ago, and she's already scared of you! She says that you're quite intimidating."

She shrugged indifferently. "I suppose so." She slipped into the apprentices' den, padding past all of the other apprentices and reaching her nest, which was snuggled comfortably at the middle of the nests. With a farewell tail flick to Spiderpaw, she settled into her nest and snuggled her nose underneath her tail. _Great StarClan, I'm sore.'_ With all that anger and adrenaline, she hadn't realized exactly how long the day had been. At least she was able to sleep now - but not without the thought of BarnClan's thievery and Owlfoot's naivety nagging her from the back of her mind.

_'I'll figure this all out,'_ she promised herself as sleep began to overtake her. _'For my Clan.'_


	3. Uncovered Secrets

A soft paw prodded at her flank, rousing the pale golden molly from her sleep. Lightningpaw groaned and lashed an irritated tail. "What is it?" she managed to growl. "It's not even dawn yet." A gentle breeze told her that the cat who irritated her so was Spiderpaw.

"I know," Spiderpaw murmured quietly. "But you _have_ to see this."

"Spiderpaw, for the last time, that mouse didn't move. It's dead. You killed it. It's not moving." Shaking his paw off, Lightningpaw turned so that her back faced her friend. "Now good night."

He snorted, "Of course I know that!" Perhaps he noticed that Lightningpaw was soundly returning to her slumber, because he suddenly knead her with both paws. "I saw Owlfoot walking out of camp when I was going to make dirt. She looked all nervous - kept looking around like she was scared," he said, hoping to catch Lightningpaw's attention.

Her ears immediately pricked and swiveled. He had successfully captured her attention. Lightningpaw shot her head up and blinked away the fog that clouded her vision. "What?" she said. She scrambled to her paws and immediately slipped through the den's entrance, paying no heed to the flecks of moss and feathers that clung to her nest. "We have to go check it out!" What could Owlfoot be doing out of the forest this late?

Spiderpaw appeared from the apprentices' den with a victorious smirk plastered across his muzzle. "Let's go," he said, padding ahead of Lightningpaw.

At this point, she didn't really care that Spiderpaw was the one leading her. Obviously, the black-furred tom knew where the brown tabby deputy had disappeared off to. She stepped through the forest carefully, making sure that no yellowed leaves or twigs crunched underneath her weight. Spiderpaw blended in perfectly with the dark scenery, but Lightningpaw was still able to follow his familiar scent.

The two of them walked for a while - a long while. In fact, Lightningpaw had just begun to wonder if Spiderpaw was just seeing things again when the tom suddenly paused, tail raised high in the air.

"Right there," Spiderpaw whispered, crouching in the thick bushes.

Heart beating wildly, Lightningpaw followed suit. She wondered briefly if her pale golden fur could be spotted in the midst of darkness, but pushed the thought aside. _'If I can hide well enough, I won't have to worry.'_ Her pale blue eyes trained on the scene before her, she pressed her shoulder against Spiderpaw's. Luckily for the two apprentices, the wind blew towards them.

They were at the river again. Owlfoot sat on LakeClan's side of the river, pacing anxiously. Her tail tip twitched impatiently as she waited for the unknown. Only a few moments later, a silhouette appeared from the other side. Owlfoot stiffened immediately.

"You came," Owlfoot said with a steely tone, her yellow eyes locked upon the cat.

"Why wouldn't I?" the male voice replied. As he stepped into the moonlight, Lightningpaw had to force herself to stifle a horrified gasp. The tom was none other than Sedgetail - the tom from the border skirmish!

The LakeClan deputy ignored Sedgetail's mocking tone. "You must tell your Clan to stop hunting on our land," she said. "I can't keep covering for you anymore. Beetlestar is getting suspicious."

Sedgetail frowned. "This does not concern me. If Beetlestar were to discover our agreement, then we both know that LakeClan doesn't stand a chance against BarnClan."

"We agreed for your Clan to take prey that is _necessary_," Owlfoot insisted. "Now you are simply hunting for fun, as evidenced by the rabbits you laid on our land!"

He shrugged indifferently. "You can't stop us."

"We did not agree to this."

"You have a lot to lose," he said. "Are you sure you want to challenge me?"

Owlfoot faltered underneath his cold stare. A moment of silence washed over the two of them as the she-cat assessed the situation. "Just tread carefully," she finally said.

"I should be saying that to you."

"Goodbye, Sedgetail." With that said, the LakeClan deputy stood to her paws, turned, and began to slink off into the forest. Sedgetail watched as she left with an unreadable expression, and he soon turned to leave, too.

It was a long while before Spiderpaw finally spoke: "Great StarClan."

'_What did I just witness?'_ Lightningpaw sat there, dumbstruck. How should she react? She didn't know _how_ to react. Anger made her throat close and chest burn, but she didn't know how to express it. _'A conspiracy within LakeClan? What is Owlfoot doing?!'_ She turned to Spiderpaw. "We have to tell Beetlestar!"

"Are you mousebrained?!" Spiderpaw replied, shocked. "Sedgetail just threatened a war on us if Beetlestar finds out! And we _both_ know how Beetlestar will react to this situation."

Lightningpaw bristled. "And we're just going to let BarnClan take our food?"

"How about Owlfoot?" he growled. "We can't just expose Owlfoot like that; you heard what Sedgetail said about her! She has everything to lose."

"And rightfully so!" she hissed. "Our own deputy is making deals with the _enemy_ without consent? For her own benefit?" Her unsheathed claws dug into the dirt as she continued: "Owlfoot doesn't even deserve to be deputy."

Spiderpaw quieted for a while, simply staring at Lightningpaw, before sighing and getting up. "Let's return to camp. The sun is rising and Owlfoot will be organizing dawn patrols soon. Don't want to be missing for that."

Tail whipping in agitation, Lightningpaw also got up and trailed after Spiderpaw. Though she traveled silently, her mind was abuzz with thoughts. _'How can Spiderpaw defend her?'_ Lightningpaw glared at her companion's back. _'A deputy is supposed to defend the Clan. Not compromise its safety.'_ As she continued to walk, a more question surfaced: _'What should I do?'_ Telling Beetlestar seemed to be her instinct right now, but Lightningpaw realized that Sedgetail was right about one thing - LakeClan was far too weak to fight BarnClan. But Beetlestar was the leader; he obviously had the right to know what his deputy was up to. On the other paw… "Spiderpaw," Lightningpaw broke the silence.

"Hm?" He looked over his shoulder.

"Promise me that we'll find out what's going on," she said, eyes burning with determination. "No one has to get involved, not even Beetlestar. Just us two. We'll figure out what Owlfoot is up to and put an end to it."

Spiderpaw's ears flicked in agreement. "Of course, Lightningpaw."

The apprentices soon approached camp, and the comforting scents of their Clanmates wafted towards them. Lightningpaw paused and looked onward. _'I can't tell anyone what I saw,'_ she reminded herself. _'Pretend like nothing's wrong.'_ Pretend as if she hadn't overheard her supposedly loyal and capable deputy have a very treacherous conversation with the enemy. Like _that_ would be easy.


	4. The Chase

Lightningpaw padded into camp, following Spiderpaw's tail. She felt her heart thump heavily with every step she took; guilt and anxiety weighed down on her like a boulder. '_I mustn't tell.'_ Oh, how difficult _that_ would be!

"Hey!" Palecloud called, suddenly appearing from the apprentices' den. "There you are," he said. He tipped his head to the side in curiosity as he approached. "What were you doing out so early?"

'_Witnessing our deputy's betrayal.'_ She bit her tongue and simply replied, "I couldn't sleep, so Spiderpaw and I went out to go hunt."

The light grey tom looked at the two apprentices sympathetically. "Prey's running thin, eh?"

"Yeah," the pale golden molly agreed. '_You can thank Owlfoot for that.'_ "Are we on patrol today?" She sorely wanted to change the topic - get her mind off of her recent discovery.

"No, Sorrelcloud and Acornstripe wanted to hold a group battle session today." The tom finally looked at Spiderpaw. "Acornstripe was looking for you, too. You should go find him before we start training."

With a nod, Spiderpaw padded off to find Acornstripe.

She watched as Spiderpaw found his and began a conversation with his mentor before turning back to Palecloud. "Why aren't we on patrol?" If she could catch one of those mousehearted BarnClanners on LakeClan's territory…

"You're only several moons away from your assessment," he said, "you should practice your fighting skills. It's more important than patrolling right now."

"Since when did you find fighting to be more important than patrolling?" she teased, finally finding it in herself to lighten the mood. '_Get your mind off of it.'_ She promised to deal with it later - with Spiderpaw.

"Not sure, actually," he replied with a light chuckle. "Are you hungry?" He motioned to the pitiful fresh-kill pile hidden safely in a fallen, hollowed log. "You should get some energy before you practice."

Before Lightningpaw could reply, her stomach made a low growling noise of agreement. Her whiskers twitched in embarrassment. "Will you share a mouse with me?" There was too little prey; Lightningpaw was used to sharing her food, lately.

He shook his head. "No, I ate with Juniperclaw."

Lightningpaw suddenly remembered Palecloud's blue-grey mate. "How is she?" Lightningpaw asked curiously. Last time she had peeped into the nursery, Juniperclaw had been quite busy tending to her two new kits - Bluekit and Pebblekit. Two mewling, tiny little bundles of fur.

"Tired," he said. "But she and the kits are doing well."

"That's good to hear." Lightningpaw was suddenly distracted by Spiderpaw who sat near the fresh-kill pile. Her black-furred companion was waving a beckoning tail to her - an invitation. "Spiderpaw is calling me," she said. Waving her tail farewell to Palecloud, she padded past him and towards Spiderpaw. As she neared, she noticed Lilypaw sitting a little behind him. "Hi," she greeted the two of them, twitching her whiskers to Lilypaw.

Lilypaw replied with a twitch of her tail tip, which Lightningpaw interpreted as an equally welcome reply.

"Let's eat," Spiderpaw suggested. "I'm hungry!" He turned towards the hollowed log, reared onto his hind feet, and stuck his head inside to examine the selections. When he turned back, he had a medium sized rabbit hanging from his jaws.

Then, all three apprentices settled together underneath a great tree and feasted.

* * *

><p>After they had finished eating, their mentors showed up and lead them out to the Training Hollow. Lightningpaw followed silently while Lilypaw and Spiderpaw decided to race one another to the Hollow. Though she had earnestly tried to push off her discovery, the conversation continued to haunt her.<p>

"_You can't stop us."_

"_We did not agree to this."_

"_You have a lot to lose. Are you sure you want to challenge me?"_

"Hey, Lightningpaw!"

"Huh?" Lightningpaw shook her head and blinked several times. Oh, they were here. The large stone wall of the Training Hollow loomed before her, along with all of its crevices. Her Clanmates stood in front of her with curious expressions.

"Daydreaming again, huh?" Spiderpaw teased.

"Oh." She shook her fur. "Yeah, daydreaming. Sorry, won't happen again."

"Hope so," Acornstripe said. Though his tone was light, his gaze was quite stern, and Lightningpaw shuffled her paws guiltily. The brown tabby began to walk towards the large, numerous crevices of the Hollow. "Today, we will be stimulating a Clan battle. Loyalty and trust is what binds us close together as a Clan, and that bond is truly tested when it comes to fights. We have to learn that our Clanmates have our backs, no matter what." While he spoke aloud, he also signed some words to Lilypaw with his tail, paws, and whiskers.

'_Loyalty and trust.'_ If she didn't tell Beetlestar about what she knew, then would she be betraying her Clan?

"You three will fight us. Pretend we're badgers threatening the nursery. If any of you are held down for more than four heartbeats, then it's all over," he droned on. "Remember, claws sheathed. I don't want to bother Ravenleaf with your accidents." He studied the apprentices before nodding. "Begin."

* * *

><p>Oh, she was sore. So sore. Lightningpaw groaned slightly as she licked a patch of pale fur on her shoulder; Acornstripe really did have strong paws. She pressed further in her own nest, comforted by the familiarity and security it provided her. "Stupid Spiderpaw," she grumbled to herself as she groomed her paws, which were stained with mud. Spiderpaw had neglected to come to her aid during the simulation. Even Lilypaw tried, and she couldn't even hear!<p>

"Hey," Palecloud's voice came from the den's entrance. He poked his head and looked at Lightningpaw. "Owlfoot's assigned us on dusk patrol."

Now _that_ caught her attention. Lightningpaw scrambled to her paws, wincing at the soreness. "Is she coming, too?"

"Nope. Said she has something to do." He chuckled. "Since when were you eager for Owlfoot's presence?"

"Just curious." Lightningpaw climbed out of her nest and stretched her legs, making a face at the pain.

"Now you know never to let a badger see your belly."

She flashed Palecloud a glare, though she knew very well that she had fully deserved it for being such a mousebrain during the session. Fighting had never been her forte, anyway. She exited the den with Palecloud following close behind, and headed towards the small group of cats at the camp's entrance.

"Hi," a bright golden molly said, welcoming Palecloud and Lightningpaw with a wave of her tail.

"Hi, Morningclaw," Lightningpaw said. "Where's Brambleflower?" Wherever Morningclaw was, her littermate was sure to follow. And Lightningpaw was eager to attend patrol with her mother - she hadn't done that before.

"She was moved into the nursery today," Morningclaw said. "She's getting much too big to be walking through the forest."

"Oh." She felt slightly hurt that her mother hadn't bothered to tell her, though she quickly shrugged it off. Brambleflower can be quite forgetful at times, anyway.

"Enough chitchat; we have to leave," said a black-and-white tom. He gave the trio a sharp green glare.

Lightningpaw rolled her eyes. Loonclaw was _always_ so impatient. Impatient and ill-tempered, too. Nothing worse than that! "Alright." She followed after her elders, just as impatient as Loonclaw to patrol. Maybe she could find what was _really_ going on. '_Can't hide your little secret forever, Owlfoot.'_


	5. The Warning

She padded behind the rest of the patrol quietly, examining her surroundings. '_As soon as I get the chance, I'll find Owlfoot,'_ she thought to herself. Owlfoot was supposedly "busy," but Lightningpaw just _knew_ that the deputy was off doing something suspicious. And she had to put a stop to it, especially since no one else could! '_If only Spiderpaw was here.'_ Oh, how Spiderpaw would've loved to come with her.

"Have you talked to Brambleflower lately?" Morningclaw asked, slowing her pace so that her bright golden fur brushed against Lightningpaw's pale one.

"No, been too busy," she said. She felt guilt creep into her conscious; Brambleflower had always been there for her. For the first few days of her apprenticeship, Brambleflower constantly provided her with extra bedding. "Don't let your joints become stiff!" Brambleflower would exclaim. Gradually, with Lightningpaw's pleads, Brambleflower stopped coming by. "Her kits are due soon, aren't they?"

Morningclaw shrugged. "Dunno, Ravenleaf says they should be." She looked up at the cloudy, grey sky. "A shame about the season though. Leafbare is the harshest."

'_Especially with the lack of food...'_ "Brambleflower and her kits will make it."

"Excited for your new siblings?"

"I suppose so," the apprentice said. As a kit, she had always wished for a sibling, especially since her littermate had been stillborn. But she never asked Brambleflower - it was always a touchy subject to her, and rightfully so.

"Hush, back there!" Loonclaw snapped from the front of the patrol. "With all that noise back there, any cat would think that a badger was crashing through the forest."

"Oh, you're the badger," Morningclaw teased, obviously shrugging off Loonclaw's annoyed tone.

Lightningpaw chuckled and returned to her former silence. Eventually, Morningclaw picked up her pace and began a conversation with Palecloud and Loonclaw. She focused hard on everything else but their conversation, and eventually the conversation turned into meaningless buzzes. She looked around at the thick forest, sniffing as a breeze carried different scents down her path. '_I need to leave soon. But how?'_ Separating from these three warriors - especially with a patrol as small as theirs - would not be an easy feat. But maybe if they kept talking…

After several more minutes of walking, Lightningpaw finally found her chance. She had lagged behind far enough, and they hadn't even noticed. Loonclaw was too engrossed in a conversation about a badger-versus-fox situation with Palecloud and Morningclaw to notice anything.

Quckly, the apprentice slipped off into the bushes. Luckily, her escape was silent. '_Palecloud is going to kill me later,'_ she thought as she continued to walk by herself. She was in the Meadows, a popular training area for new apprentice. The river wasn't too far from here, and with that realization, Lightningpaw quickened her pace.

* * *

><p>Finally, she arrived onto the scene. The sun was dipping below the distant mountains now, but there was still sufficient sunlight to compliment Lightningpaw's pale fur. She hid in the bramble bushes, careful not to catch her fur in its thorns, as she waited for Owlfoot's arrival.<p>

"Lightningpaw?" an all-too-familiar voice called from behind.

Her heart turned into stone and dropped to her belly. That voice belonged to Owlfoot. '_Mousedung!'_ Taking deep breaths, Lightningpaw turned to face the brown tabby. "What are you doing here?"

Owlfoot studied Lightningpaw with an unreadable expression. "I should be asking you that. Where is your patrol?"

"Oh." There was another momentary pause before she continued, "I thought I smelled something strange here. I didn't want to bother them so I left; I just got here."

"Mhm," Owlfoot said, though her tone betrayed her words. "So, where is Spiderpaw hiding?"

Another heart-drop. "What do you mean?"

The deputy motioned over to the bush where she and Spiderpaw had hidden last night. "I found a tuft of black fur there last night."

"That could be Loonclaw," Lightningpaw pointed out, "or Ravenleaf."

"True," she said, "but my nose does not betray me. You and Spiderpaw were there."

'_She knows.'_ She twitched her whiskers. "Then how long did you expect your secret to stay a secret?"

"Long enough for me to figure this all out," Owlfoot replied.

"Mousedung!" Her tail lashed like a whip. "How dare you put your own needs before your own Clan's?!" Anger and ferocity took over her now. A loud _woosh_ sound filled her ears, and she could barely hear herself yelling over the noise. "How can you stand seeing your hungry Clanmates? Brambleflower will kit soon and there isn't even enough food for her, let alone the kits!"

"You don't think I feel guilty every day?" Owlfoot snarled, looming like a menacing badger above Lightningpaw. "Watching my Clanmates suffer is never something I wanted, and you should know that."

"Then why do you condemn us?" she snapped.

"I-I have business with BarnClan." Owlfoot suddenly looked away.

"_I know_ that," Lightningpaw growled. "A deputy should not have _business_ with another Clan. You are breaking the warrior code."

"The warrior code isn't always right," she shot back. Shaking her head, Owlfoot said, "Lightningpaw, you have to promise me that you and Spiderpaw don't get involved anymore than you are. And you have to also promise not to tell anyone what you two saw."

Another wave of anger overtook Lightningpaw. How dare this traitorous deputy tell _her_ what to do? _And_ doubt the warrior code? "You really are courageous. But you are also mousebrained," she hissed. "Does Beetlestar know? Does he know what kind of a deputy he has trusted for many moons?"

She ignored the apprentice's question. "If you tell any cat, your safety may be compromised."

"If we don't die of starvation first!"

"I'll make this right," Owlfoot promised. Her eyes were rounded and shined with desperation, as if she were trying to convince herself that, too. "I hurt LakeClan, but I will make this right."

"So you won't step down from your position?" she asked.

"After all of this is figured out, then I will." Owlfoot stood and turned to leave. "Remember to relay the message to Spiderpaw. Your safety is always my priority, as your deputy."

It took every shred of self respect for Lightningpaw not to hurl herself at Owlfoot at that very moment. Instead, she pulled herself to her paws and turned towards the direction she had arrived from. She padded to leave, but took one long look over her shoulder at the deputy. "Your priorities are skewed, Owlfoot. You are no deputy to me."


	6. Mother's Love

'_Should I continue?'_

'_What if Spiderpaw and I get killed - or get someone else killed?'_

'_I know I _have _to do it, though. I can't let this crime go.'_

The sun shined brightly into the apprentices' den, but the air was frosty. Lightningpaw pressed harder into her nest, hoping to glean whatever warmth she could from the feathers and moss, but continued to shiver. Even though she was centered in the middle of the apprentices, and thus surrounded by the bodies of her fellow Clanmates, she felt cold. Cold and alone.

A soft, frustrated growl escaped the molly as sleep slipped from her grasp for the umpteenth time. She was restless; how could any cat expect her to just lie down and sleep? She sighed and lifted her chin off of her paws and stare at the entrance of the den. Today was an especially cold and windy day - how was Brambleflower holding out? Oh, she was due any day now, and with every passing day Lightningpaw's anxiety grew.

Finally giving up on sleep, Lightningpaw stood up and carefully padded outside. A strong gust of wind immediately assaulted her, and she shivered. The camp was empty for now, and understandably so. Cold days like this usually meant that every day activities would be delayed. Lightningpaw walked to the fresh-kill log and fished out a small, stiff shrew. Brambleflower would be hungry, right?

She turned and headed towards the nursery with the prey hanging from her maw. When she reached the den, which was safely nestled underneath a protective bramble bush, she poked her head in. "Brambleflower?"

A brown tabby shifted awkwardly in her nest. She lifted her head and blinked her golden eyes. "Oh, Lightningpaw!" she said with a pleasant voice that Lightningpaw loved so much. Brambleflower waved her tail to the small space in her nest. "Come sit, dear."

Lightningpaw slipped in and quickly settled down next to her mother. She set the shrew in front of her. "This is for you. You need to eat as much as you can."

"Please, with the amount of food you are feeding me, you'll starve the Clan," the queen mused, nosing the rabbit to Lightningpaw. "Share with me; it's been a while since we've had a good talk."

She nodded and reached down to take the first bite. When she looked back up, Brambleflower had also taken a generous bite.

"How is Loonclaw?"

Lightningpaw blinked as she thought about the black-and-white tom. "He's doing fine - just a bit anxious about you."

"Ah, I wish he were allowed here."

"You know he's not until the kits can walk."

Brambleflower twitched her whiskers in disappointment. "It's such an outdated practice. We are hardly wild rogues anymore!"

"Call it tradition, if you will," Lightningpaw said with a tone of amusement. "It's for the kits' safety. And yours."

Brambleflower purred and pushed the finished rabbit out of the nest. "That aside, how are you?"

She considered this for a moment. "Honestly, not too well," she said quietly, pressing against her mother for comfort as if she were a kit again.

"What's wrong?" Brambleflower curled against her daughter, although her movements were a bit awkward due to her swollen belly. "You can tell me."

The apprentice looked around the den warily. The other two queens, Gannetfoot and Juniperclaw, were sound asleep, as were their kits. Still, she lowered her voice and said, "I know a secret that I'm not supposed to know." '_Be as vague as possible,'_ she guided herself, '_don't let Brambleflower become involved.'_ "It's a bad secret, and I want to do something about it. But I'm afraid that if I do, a lot of feelings might be hurt. And I'm afraid that if I don't, something worse will happen. But the cat who this secret concerns - they don't want anyone to find out, but they're hurting a lot of feelings." She watched her mother carefully, attempting to gauge her reactions. Brambleflower _always_ knew what to say, so hopefully she could provide some helpful advice.

There was a bit of silence for Brambleflower said, "The secret you talk about may hurt a lot of cats if revealed, but I believe that it is for the best. Secrets, when kept secret, are powerful and deadly weapons. They can put a cat into one's mercy at any point. If the secret is revealed, then only the wrongdoers will be punished. In life, you will always hurt cats. But perhaps that is the price you pay for being a good Clan member."

Lightningpaw listened to every one of Brambleflower's words. '_She thinks Spiderpaw and I should chase after Owlfoot!' _That was a surprise; usually, Brambleflower was all for peace and fairness. "But what if I hurt someone?" she asked, looking down at her paws. "I don't want to hurt anybody."

"I know you don't; you are a good cat," she murmured, licking Lightningpaw between the ears. "If you hurt someone, then you must know that you can't always keep everyone safe in life. We always do what we can, but sometimes it's not enough. That is life."

"So...I follow my heart?"

"Yes. You have always had good intentions; I believe that you will do the right thing in the end."

Lightningpaw just about beamed. She licked her mother's chin and rubbed her head against hers. "Thank you, Brambleflower. You're the best."

"Thank you for trusting me with your issues," she purred. Suddenly, her expression turned worrisome. "But I have to ask - is everything alright?"

"Just silly drama, I suppose," Lightningpaw lied.

Brambleflower nodded in understanding. "Ah, I see then. That's quite understandable."

The apprentice's ears flicked when she heard the pawsteps of her Clanmates resound from the camp's clearing. They were waking now. She rubbed her face against Brambleflower's one last time. "See you later." With that, she picked up the finished rabbit and padded out of the den.

"Hey, you!" Spiderpaw called from the apprentice dens' entrance.

Ears swiveling, Lightningpaw looked behind her shoulder as Spiderpaw approached. "Hey," she welcomed him.

"I was concerned when I didn't see you in your nest earlier," he said. "I thought you went after Owlfoot!"

"Hush!" she hissed through the rabbit, eyes darting around to see if any cat had noticed. "I have to talk to you about that after I bury this."

* * *

><p>"She really said that to you?!" he gasped, eyes widened in shock.<p>

She nodded solemnly.

"Well, what should we do? Should we stop?" Spiderpaw continued with a worried expression: "We've only scratched the surface of this, too!"

"We're not going to stop," Lightningpaw said with determination. "We'll continue to do this for our Clan - without inciting war."

"But how? We're just two apprentices; I doubt BarnClan will be scared of us."

"I don't know how," she admitted sheepishly. Shaking her head, she continued, "But we'll do whatever it takes to keep our Clan safe, right?"

"Right. But...shouldn't we tell Beetlestar? Maybe if we explain the whole situation to him…"

"And then what?" A growl started deep in her throat. "Have Owlfoot convince him otherwise? Like what she's been doing this whole time?" She shook her head. "Beetlestar is useless at this point; he just listens to his deputy."

Spiderpaw appeared stunned by the fact that Lightningpaw had shamelessly insulted their leader. After he gathered his wits, he said, "Okay, I trust you Lightningpaw. We'll do this together."

"I'll figure this whole thing out soon. Before our warrior ceremonies, hopefully. By the time we are warriors, BarnClan will keep their thieving paws off of our land and we will be able to walk without fear."


	7. Confrontations

'_I'm going to be a warrior soon. I wonder what my warrior name will be?'_ she wondered to herself as she padded towards the apprentices' den after another long day of training. Her assessment was a quarter-moon away! '_I hope Beetlestar names me well.'_ There wasn't a doubt in her mind that Beetlestar would select an accurate name for her - especially since Palecloud would also offer some suggestions based on her progress. Still, she fretted like any other warrior to-be.

She spotted Spiderpaw sitting in front of Bramblingpaw's and Goosepaw's nest the moment she entered the den. His head was slightly bowed in embarrassment, but his green eyes remained bitter. '_Acornstripe is making him apologize,' _she realized with amusement. She settled down in her nest and watched the trio.

"Sorry for scaring you," Spiderpaw muttered, barely making eye contact.

Lightningpaw stifled a snort. This morning, she had been woken up by a pair of squealing, panicked apprentices dashing out of the den as if they had seen a spirit of StarClan. They had woken the whole Clan, which didn't amuse anybody.

"So you should be!" Goosepaw growled.

"It wasn't very nice," Bramblingpaw agreed with a glare.

"It was just a joke," Spiderpaw said. "Goodbye." He turned around and walked to Lightningpaw, rolling his eyes as he did. "Such kits!" he sighed exasperatedly.

"Oh, you're just lucky Willowface didn't come after you," Lightningpaw teased. "I think she's plotting your death."

He snored and fluffed his black fur as if to intimidate. "I can take her on," he said. "She _hates_ to get her paws dirty, you know."

She twitched her tail tip in agreement. Willowface was quite aggressive, picky, and particularly unpleasant to be around. Well, at least that's what Lightningpaw thought. "I have a plan," she whispered suddenly. Ever since she had reaffirmed her goal with Spiderpaw a moon ago, she had been planning out different ways to help her Clan.

"Oh?" He scooted closer to Lightningpaw and laid down.

"Well, Sedgetail's been using Owlfoot's secret against her," she said quietly, eyeing Goosepaw and Bramblingpaw in the distance. Luckily for her, the two siblings seemed far more interested in a moss ball. "We should discover Owlfoot's secret. Maybe that will help us discover a way to solve this."

He blinked. "I'm sure that the secret is well worth keeping, right? That's why BarnClan is able to use it against us. What if it does more bad than good when we discover it?"

"That's exactly my point!" she hissed under her breath. "If BarnClan discovers that they no longer have leverage on us, then Owlfoot can easily refuse them."

"...I guess," he said uncertainly.

"Great." She curled her tail around herself. "Owlfoot's been leaving more often now to meet Sedgetail. We can follow tonight - but we have to be _extra_ careful."

"Alright."

* * *

><p>Like clockwork, Owlfoot sneaked out of her den just as soon as the moon rose. Lightningpaw and Spiderpaw watched from their own den as the brown tabby sneaked off into the forest and towards the river.<p>

Once she had gone, Lightningpaw stepped out and beckoned Spiderpaw to follow with a flick of her tail. The two apprentices quickly followed after their deputy, sprinting through the forest. Not a noise resounded from their pawsteps; they were experienced, now, with stealth.

They arrived at the familiar scene and deftly fell into positions behind a berry bush, careful to avoid thorns that would catch their fur.

Sedgetail appeared from the other side of the river. "Owlfoot," he said coolly with a nod.

Owlfoot nodded in acknowledgement. "Sedgetail."

"How is your Clan?" the dark brown tom asked, though his tone was cold.

"We are doing well enough." Owlfoot stiffened underneath his stare. "H-how are my kits?" she tentatively asked. "You didn't bring them today?"

'_Kits?!'_ Lightningpaw was barely able to hide her horrified gasp. Her heartbeat nearly halted. She knew that Owlfoot's secret was bad, but _this_ bad? Breaking-the-warrior-code bad? '_How could have Beetlestar chosen you?'_

"Reedpaw and Cinderpaw are doing well," he said. "They're adapting to BarnClan life rather well. I didn't bring them because they were tired."

"And you are treating them well, I hope."

He rolled his eyes. "Owlfoot, please. As their father, I am raising them perfectly well."

The apprentice stared, wide-eyed. '_Sedgetail is the father?'_ She flattened her ears against her skull. '_How mousebrained can you be, Owlfoot?'_ Had Owlfoot completely forgotten about the warrior code? For StarClan's sake, she had basically thrown it away! Forgotten the way of Clan life!

"I could have, too, you know," Owlfoot said somewhat mournfully. "I could have raised them in my own Clan perfectly well."

"Not if you wanted to become deputy," he reminded her. His tone was hard and tired, as if he had explained this to Owlfoot many times before. "And after Troutfur's death, too."

Troutfur. Lightningpaw vaguely recalled that name and tom. He was deputy before she was born, Brambleflower had told her. But one day they had discovered his broken body near the river - an odd find because LakeClan cats were taught to swim. But after Ravenleaf had examined him, she had ruled cause of death to be a fox attack.

Owlfoot seemed bitter to hear the old deputy's name. "I deserved to be deputy."

"And so you gave me the kits," Sedgetail finished the conversation. "I should be organizing dusk patrol," he said, looking up at the dark sky. "Goodbye, Owlfoot." Then, just like that, he disappeared into the forest.

She could barely contain her anger and disbelief any longer. The cat she had once admired as a kit had done _so many_ wrong things. Had turned her back on the Clan. Disobeyed the fundamentals! How _dare_ Owlfoot?

"Hey! Light-"

Too late. The apprentice exploded from the bush and barely registered Owlfoot's shock. Anger made her feel alive. Anger made her paws tingle and head rush. She was faintly aware that she was yelling, but she couldn't stop herself - not like she wanted to, anyway. "I knew that your secret was bad. I was hoping you _help _you, you know! Even though I wanted to tell Beetlestar! I thought that maybe you had a _shred_ of decency left in you as the deputy of LakeClan! But instead, I find out that you've been breaking the warrior code for as long as I have lived - even longer. You're not even a Clan cat, much less a deputy!"

"_What_ did I say to you?!" Owlfoot growled, baring her teeth. "I told you to keep your head out of this. I told the both of you!" She glared at Spiderpaw who stayed hidden in the bushes. "I have made mistakes, Lightningpaw -"

"Your whole life was a mistake."

"But my kits are something I won't regret!"

"Is that what Sedgetail is using against you? Your kits?"

"It is more than that," Owlfoot admitted. "But I must feed my kits, and I can't let anyone find out about this."

"BarnClan can surely feed themselves! How about _us_, your Clanmates? Or have you forgotten that you have to take care of us, too?"

Lightningpaw couldn't remember anything else after that aggressive accusation. Why? Because all she could remember were her deputy's furious, malicious yellow eyes only inches away from hers. She could smell Owlfoot's hot breath against her sensitive whiskers. She could feel Owlfoot's claws pierce her skin and draw blood. And she could hear Spiderpaw's frantic yowls in the distance.

Then, she blacked out.


End file.
